Azerbaijan, Baku / corr Trend A.Gasimova / A declaration of 25 articles have been signed as a result of the summit of the Caspian littoral countries held in Tehran on 16 October.
A summit of five Caspian littoral countries, including Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan, began in Tehran on 16 October. The gathering focused on the Caspian legal status, which remains unsettled after the collapse of the former USSR.
The declaration was undersigned by the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iran and Russia. The declaration is the first official document undersigned by the Caspian littoral countries regarding the Caspian legal status.
The first summit of the Caspian littoral countries was held in Ashgabat un April 2002. The gathering adopted the decision to conduct the second summit in Tehran in 2003. However, the event has been repeatedly postponed every year.
Caspian natural resources include over 500 types of plants and 854 types of fish (including 90% of the world sturgeon reserves). Oil reserves in correlation to the world's are not so huge (2%), but enough to cover the energy security of the region. After the collapse of the USSR the number of Caspian littoral countries increased from two to five and the adoption of a new agreement on the legal status of the Caspian was needed with the participation of all littoral countries.